Common Name: Orange jasmine, Kamini. Tamil Name: Vengarai.
Kamini is a small native tree well know for its beautiful fragrant white flowers. The tree grows to a height of about 3.5 meters and has a pale whitish bark. The wood is very hard and even dislodging small branches require great effort. The leaves are pinnate; leaflets are seen in 3 or 2 pairs; the axis ends in a leaflet. The end leaflets are larger than the rest; leaflets are glossy green in color. The leaflet measure around 4.2 cm; oval in shape with a cuneate bottom and an acute tip. The inflorescence is mostly in the form of an axillary cyme- bunched at branch end. The white fragrant flowers have 5 distinct petals which are recurved, elliptic in shape and measure around 2.6 cm each. The flower stalk measure around 8 mm and the flower measurers around 3 cm across. The calyx is very small, green in color and measure around 1-2 mm. The flower encloses around 10 stamens and a single style with a round tip. The fruit is in the from of an oval shaped berry which turn dark orange when fully ripe. The fruit contains 1-2 seeds each. Kamini is a popular ornamental tree suitable for small gardens and house-holds. Offlate the tree is used as a hedge plant and the tree can be trained into various shapes. Kamini is the larval host plant for Lime blue and Common mormon butterflies
